Portable tank and bowl combination



H. F. SMITH 2,721,332

PORTABLE TANK AND BOWL COMBINATION Oct. 25, 1955 Filed June 2, 1953 2 I I I url'lll a 2 INVENTOR. HA 7278 Y F- SMITH ATTORNE Y5 United States Patent O 2,721,332 PORTABLE TANK AND BowL coMniNArioN Harry F. Smith, Lexington, Ohio, assignor to Mansfield Sanitary Pottery, Inc., Perrysville, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 2, 1953, Serial No. 359,063

1 Claim. (Cl. 468) This invention relates generally to close coupled flush tank and bowl combinations and particularly to such a combination which is adapted for use in portable conveyances such as house trailers.

Flush tanks having loose lids are quite satisfactory when the combinations are used in fixed position, for example, in a house, but are quite unsuited to use in portable conveyances which are subjected to shocks in transit. Unless the lids are secured in place on the tank, they will bounce up away from the tank and will cause noise when they return to their place on the tank and may even break under such shocks.

Various expedients have been proposed for securing the lids to the tanks but so far as I know, none of these proposals has been entirely satisfactory. The problem of securing the lid to the tank is complicated by the presence of interfering factors. The inlet valve with its float arm and float and the flush valve with its parts occupy space within the tank and these parts are in places where it would be preferable to locate the lid-securing means but these parts cannot be readily moved because of space considerations and because any relocation of them would require changes in the holes in the tank and thus interfere with ready replaceability of parts which is possible at present because the tanks and parts are standardized and interchangeable. The present invention solves this prob lem by creating a new combination of elements which consists of a new element and may include the elements of either of my U. S. Patents Nos. 2,520,575 and 2,590,471, or of my copending application, Serial No. 282,499, filed April 15, 1952, now Patent No. 2,659,088 issued on November 17, 195 3.

The present invention will be better understood by those skilled in the art from the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary, top plan view of apparatus embodying the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical, central section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

In the figures, the rear part of a toilet bowl is indicated at 1. A combined spud and valve seat 2 seats in the opening 3 through the top wall 4 of the bowl 1 and extends through a hole in the bottom wall 5 of tank 6. Preferably member 2 has a conical outer surface 7 adjacent to its lower end to seat on a correspondingly shaped surface 8 of the bowl and has a rounded upper end surface 9 to cooperate with a flush valve for retaining water in the tank 6. Member 2 preferably has an annular groove 10 in its outer surface between its upper and lower ends to receive the bottom wall of the tank.

Tank 6 is secured to bowl 1 by means including two side bolts and a rear bolt 16. The side bolts 15 extend through holes in the bottom of the tank and through a flange 17 projecting outwardly from the opposite sides and rear end of the bowl 1. This flange 17 extends but a short distance from the rear side of the bowl as is indicated at 18. The head of bolt 16 is within the tank and the shank extends through a hole in the bottom of the tank through clip 19. Nuts 20 and 21 serve to press the upper flexible leg 22 of the clip against the under surface of the tank and the end of the lower, comparatively rigid, leg 23 of the cl1p aga1nst the under side of flange 18.

Nut 20 may be omitted if desired.

2,721,332 Patented Oct. 25, 1955 ICC The lid 25 of tank 6 is provided with a hole in approximate vertical alignment with bolt 16. A laterally flexible metal rod 26 is attached to the head of bolt 16 on one side of the screw driver slot. An interiorly threaded knob 27 extends through the hole in lid 25 and, by being screwed onto rod 26, serves to clamp lid 25 securely in place on tank 6.

It will be understood that rod 26 is attached to the head of bolt 16, as by welding, brazing or in any other suitable manner, and that after these parts are so attached, the bolt may be assembled with the tank 6 and clip 19. Since the rod 26 is flexible and is secured to the part of the head at one side of the screw driver slot, a screw driver may be placed in the slot with the handle between the rod 26 and the adjacent side of the tank and the bolt may thus be held in position while the clip and nuts are being applied to its lower end. This facilitates assembly and disassembly.

Since the rod 26 is centrally located lengthwise of the tank and is ofiset rearwardly relative to the flush valve, the inlet valve and the float and float lever, it does not interfere with any of these parts. Also, such location insures that force applied to lid 25 by knob 27 will press the lid against the tank with more or less equal force throughout the periphery of the lid.

The lid 25 may be readily removed from the tank when desired by simply unscrewing knob 27, and the tank may be removed from the bowl by first removing the lid and then holding the bolt 16 with a screw driver in the tank while removing the bolts 22 and 23.

It is to be understood that the combinations of elements of my above identified patents and application may be combined with the new elements 26 and 27 above described to provide the new combination of elements.

It is also to be understood that the present invention is not restricted to use with the illustrated flush valve but may be used with other flush valves which are suitable for use with similar tank mountings, for example, with the flush valve structure shown in U. S. Patent No. 2,590,471, issued March 25, 1952. It is also to be understood that the present invention is not restricted to use with the illustrated clip but may be used with tank and bowl connecting apparatus such as is shown in the just identified patent or in U. S. Patent No. 2,520,575, issued August 29, 1950.

Having thus described the present invention so that others skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

In a toilet comprising a bowl, a tank supported thereby, and means for securing the tank and bowl in assembled position including a bolt having a head disposed within the tank and a shank extending through the bottom wall of the tank, the combination of a cover for the tank, and means securing the cover in assembled position on the tank including a laterally flexible rod connected at its lower end to the head of said bolt and extending vertically upward in the tank to a point adjacent to said cover and a knob bearing on the top of said cover and having a shank extending through a hole in the cover and threaded onto the upper end of said rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 849,436 Sullivan Apr. 9, 1907 940,951 Bailey Nov. 23, 1909 2,520,575 Smith Aug. 29, 1950 2,659,088 Smith Nov. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 315,182 Great Britain July 11, 1929 

